The city of Los Angeles has only raised about $17,000 in donations to cover the costs spent for the Michael Jackson Memorial. It is not because Michael’s fans are cheap, in fact it is because too many fans are logging onto the donation website, which in turn has caused the site to crash.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said, “The city’s Information Technology Agency could not handle the high volume of traffic or adequately respond to receive contributions for several hours Tuesday afternoon … for at least 12 consecutive hours Tuesday evening … and periodically throughout Wednesday morning.”

The Mayor is urging fans to keep trying to log onto the site and make a donation. If you are interested in making a donation, please use the link below.

Now that the memorial service for Michael Jackson has just finished, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is asking fans to contribute to offset the $4 million it will cost the city to cover the city’s costs associated with the funeral and memorial.

The Mayor’s office has created the following site for those who are interested in making a donation.

There are many Angelinos who do not agree that the city should be covering the costs and are asking the Jackson family to pay the costs the city has incurred. As of now, there is no word from the family if they will be paying for all or part of the costs.

“We Died” The Valley Arena’s third full length album is out now on L.A.-based Jaxart Records.

The Valley Arena was formed by Mike Nielsen, Chris Stevens and Warren Woodward in late 2003. Early on, the band took influence from both the DC Dischord scene (Fugazi, Q and Not U) and San Diego (Hot Snakes, No Knife).

Austin, Texas’ Iron Age have been slugging it out in hardcore and punk circles since the middle of the decade, touring the North America and abroad with such contemporary hardcore luminaries as Rise And Fall, Cold World, Fucked Up, and Trash Talk while steadily honing the riffed-out hardcore sound established on their 2006 debut Constant Struggle.

With The Sleeping Eye, Iron Age remains a modern torchbearer for the long tradition established by the crossover classics (Corrosion of Conformity’s Animosity, Crumbsuckers’ Life of Dreams, Cro-Mags’ Best Wishes, etc), but twists the NYHC-inspired thrash of their debut to create something bigger and darker, enhancing the violence of their former efforts with mammoth Lovecraftian atmopshere. Gargantuan guitar riffs conjure images of astral behemoths while unnamed terrors lurk in the unwavering, resolute rhythm section. The demon doesn’t truly emerge though until the blood-curdling, blasphemous growls of Jason Tarpey crawl to the startling forefront. Fans of the vocal madness of King Diamond or G.I.S.M.’s Sakevi can rejoice at this reverb-drenched shrieking.

The Sleeping Eye is a sprawling modern heavy metal opus that doesn’t forsake its hardcore roots, but follows them to their sonic extremities, forging a sound that honors the crossover forefathers while treading new ground in brutal atmosphere and doomy ambiance.

Fans of unconventional hardcore, ripping thrash, and heavy music in general should look out for early June dates with Sex Vid and Mind Eraser around the North East, a July-August west coast tour, and more as 2009 unfolds.

This will be the first official release of the soundtrack to their critically acclaimed film of the same name.

“[Spindrift has] upgraded the master’s spaghetti sonics for the new millennium on its imminent full-length debut The West…” -Wired.com

“L.A.’s leading practitioners of exotic soundscapes, conjuring up dreamy spells that alternately evoke spaghetti Westerns, psychedelia, dusty blues and Old World klezmer.” -LA WeeklyMixing the dusty, cinematic soundscapes of old spaghetti-western films with the mind-expanding Psych Rock of modern practitioners like The Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre (not to mention drone forefathers The Velvet Underground), L.A.’s Spindrift makes music that sounds like what one would hear while tripping in the desert on a vision quest.

Originally formed by singer/songwriter/guitarist Kirpatrick Thomas as two bands — an East Coast Rock one and a West Coast version more in line with Thomas’ Ennio Morricone Jones — the frontman bled all of the influences into one and dropped anchor in California, forming a seven-piece band (including former BJM and Warlocks members) to re-create the spooky Old West sounds in his head. The unique hybrid caught the ears of Sex Pistols’ guitarist Steve Jones early, leading him to champion the band on his popular L.A. radio show. Since then, Spindrift has worked songs into movie soundtracks — most notably the indie The Legend of God’s Gun, in which the band’s music plays a starring role — and are currently enjoying success with The West, the band’s first album for the Dandy Warhols’ Beat the World label.

Both haunting and hallucinogenic, “The Legend of God’s Gun” soundtrack takes the listener on a cosmic journey through the desert as a preacher-turned-gunslinger sets out for vengeance.

With a guitar in one hand and six-shooter in the other, neo-cosmic cowboy Kirpatrick Thomas and his current band of banditos resurrect the spirits of Ennio Morricone and Bruno Nicolai and combines them with the ghosts of Velvet Underground and Jim Morrison, weaving a dusty backdrop to a story of sin and salvation in the wild wild west.

The Legend Of God’s Gun Tracklisting:1. In The Beginning…2. Titoli3. The Legend Of God’s Gun4. Conversation With A Gun5. Preacher’s Theme6. The New West (instrumental)7. Speak To The Wind8. Organ Fugue In Dm Op 429. Burn The Church10. Greenhorn’s Introduction11. Girlz Booze and Gunz12. Blessing The Bullets13. The Scorpion’s Venom14. Indian Run

A Louisiana judge ordered Corey Miller, better known as rapper C-Murder, to remain in jail for allegedly breaking the rules of his house arrest.

Authorities said that they lost the signal from Corey’s monitor device, but Corey’s attorney said that the rapper was at home sleeping and that the device malfunctioned.

The rapper is scheduled for trial on April 20th on a second-degree murder charge in connection with the 2002 death of 16-year-old Steve Thomas during a fight at a nightclub.

Since the rapper’s arrest, he changed his name to C-Miller and has written a novel and released a CD.

Tupac’s Mother Counter-Suing Film Company Morgan Creek

Amaru Entertainment (the company set up by Tupac’s mother Afeni Shakur) is counter-suing film company Morgan Creek, who is alleged with trying to sabotage the company from partnering with another studio to release a bio on Tupac.

Amaru released this statement about the suit, “Instead of negotiating in good faith with Amaru, they sought to obtain the rights by concocting a non-existent ‘agreement’ and engaging in heavy-handed threats, coercion and intimidation to interfere with and ultimately destroy the film project.”

Last month, Morgan Creek filed a suite in Los Angeles Superior Court claiming that Amaru backed out of a deal to sell Tupac’s life rights for biopic. Morgan Creek said that they received a final term sheet in December and an agreement was about to be reached, but in January, Amaru pulled out.

Amaru is seeking a court declaration saying that there was never a deal with Morgan Creek, but that Amaru was speaking to several film companies about creating a biopic.

Snoop Dogg has signed a multi-rights deal with MTV to distribute, market and promote his upcoming album “Malice In Wonderland”. The album will be released later this year and will feature Pharrell, composer Lalo Schifrin, and Dr. Dre.

Nas Recording With Damian Marley

Nas is recording with reggae star Damian Marley for a project that might be released in the spring. It is not clear which label will release it as both artists are signed to two different labels.

Nas is working with Dr. Dre for the Detox album and he hopes to tour this summer.

Lil’ Kim Not Happy With Notorious Movie

Lil’ Kim has expressed her anger at the biography movie Notorious, which shows the life and death of rapper The Notorious B.I.G.

The film was produced by P. Diddy and B.I.G.’s mother Voletta Wallace and based on the biography “Unbelievable: The Life, Death And Afterlife Of The Notorious B.I.G. by Cheo Hedari Coker.

Lil’ Kim said that the film portrays her as a bitch and a home wrecker and that she had a relationship with B.I.G. to advance her own rap career. Kim said that “I’m very disappointed in Faith (Evans- B.I.G’s widow). There’s nothing Faith or Ms. Wallace could do to stop me from repping B.I.G. all day. I’m gonna always do that…It’s time for Ms. Wallace to be exposed”.

Faith Evans responded with “I try my best not to think about it; It’s kinda sad. I got four kids, and I definitely don’t have time for this type of shit. It’s just sad. This is not my movie. I didn’t write the script. Any characters in the film had to agree for their life rights to be in the movie. I don’t think I would have signed anything had I felt I was not portrayed properly. I think she had the opportunity to do that. I could be mistaken. I wasn’t there.”

Violette Wallace said that the film was about her son and that it is not the Lil’ Kim story and that if she does not like how she was portrayed, it is her problem.

In other Lil’ Kim news, she will be one of the contestants of this season’s Dancing With The Stars.

Death Row’s Assets Auctioned

The assets of Death Row Records, which include master recordings of Tupac, Snoop and Dr. Dre were auctioned for $18 million to WIDEawake, a Canadian development company. The company does not have distribution in the US and it has not been determined who the company will partner with to distribute the catalog.

Lara Lavi who represents WIDEawake said that they have ideas about what to do with the catalog and that “we’re very respectful of Death Row’s legacy and when the time is right we’ll announce that.”

Death Row filed for Chapter 11 protection in April 2006 and in July 2006, a CA judge ordered a bankruptcy trustee to take over the label.

Warner Music Group and Koch Entertainment originally put bids on Death Row (some estimates say the bids were up to $25 million), but because of Death Rows inadequate accounting and record keeping made it impossible to determine the label’s true value, they pulled out of the auction.

Cypress Hill Finishing New Studio Album

Cypress Hill is finishing recording their first album in five years and hope to have it out for a Fall 2009 release. The album is in the mixing stages. The untitled album will feature Everlast, Evidence and The Alchemist as guests.

The group has spent the last five years working on their own solo projects. B-Real has been working on “Smoke N Mirrors” which features Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Buckshot, Damian Marley, Too $hort, Kurupt, Sen Dog and B-Real’s protege Young De.

DMX Charged With Assault

DMX, who is serving a 90 day jail sentence for felony theft, drug possession and misdemeanor animal cruelty, has been recharged with assault after he threw a tray of food at a detention officer.

This recent charge of assault is not DMX’s first time he has gotten into trouble while in jail. He threatened to fight the guards. According to the guards, DMX started cursing and threatened to “assault somebody to get some respect”. While in lockdown, DMX is on a diet of bread and water.

BAMN or By All Means Necessary is one of the new breed of Indie artists coming out of the LA Anti -Music scene, and I struck out on the road with them going from LA to Denver. Playing in front of packed houses, half empty clubs and everything in between, I got to witness firsthand what it takes to make it in a music scene falling apart at the hands of an industry that is a shell of its former self, the trials and tribulations of trying to work a dream into a day job , and what happens when a band and tour support are stuffed into a tin can called the Free Willy Wonka for months on end smelling like sweat, urine, beer, and Axe body spray.

This will not be the story of the surprise influence of REO Speed wagon, or a tale that tells of inner torment leading to eventual rehab like every True Hollywood story of every band created twenty years ago. This is the story of what four talented musicians have done to create a band with new voice and a stage show that will move you. This is the story of how By All Means Necessary makes it on the road and how four people from all across the country came to LA with a strongest most relevant sound that the city of angels has seen in years.

This winter rocked BAMN. After five years as front man. Matt was walking away. Some say it was the grind of the road, others say it was a new baby at home, and your author predicted that BAMN was done, but I was wrong about that, about everything. Zo, Chris, and Greg, the remaining members of BAMN, were getting some much needed R&R at The Playboy Mansion when they saw a gorgeous young singer opening for Skid Row’s Sebastian Bach. Desiree blew them away.

BAMN asked her to try out for the band, gave her a few songs to learn, and set a date for the audition. On that fateful day, bandaged and broken, she strode into BAMN’s LA studio ready to rock. After surviving a near fatal car accident, Desiree was intent on not letting anything get in between her dreams of rock stardom and her future band. Desiree sung through the pain, and blew them away once again. Desiree is more than just a great singer. She is an accomplished songwriter. The merge of her sound with BAMN’s created something greater than the whole of its parts. The new BAMN was ready to hit the road.

BAMN’s Sleep When you’re Dead tour starts at ten am. That’s the crack of dawn in rocker world. My instructions were clear. I was given a 19” x 13” x 11” space for storage, a really really small bunk, a strict warning that all personal items were to be out of common areas when awake, and a long list of necessary items that reminded me a little of summer camp. The most disturbing thing on that list was baby wipes preferably cucumber melon scented. Lastly I was given a stern warning that there was one offense for which there was no forgiveness…crapping on the bus.First let me tell you a little bit about The Free Willy Wonka.

This 1994 Ford Fourwinds thirty foot RV sleeps seven, five of them comfortably. It was originally the tour vehicle for the US Bombs. While it is infinitely superior to a fourteen passenger van, it is roughly the equivalent of you and your five friends working from home in your 160 square foot one bedroom apartment, oh and there’s no shower. Where the shower used to be is my luxurious two square foot storage area. The smell is really something special to be experienced. Remember you and your five friends have no shower, a lot of beer, a really small budget, the AC only works when they use an extension cord to connect the power directly, and even the finest urinary marksmen have trouble hitting the toilet of a carpeted bathroom travelling 65 miles an hour and oh- you’re half drunk on Jack Daniels.

Before tour I’m picturing one guy writing songs in the corner, beers all around, maybe a drunk girl wondering what the hell she was going to tell her mother when she gets dropped off in the next city, and after a great show it would all end in a giant pool party at a lesbian’s house with a slip and slide loaded with lube- but it didn’t happen that way, at least not all at once.So we jump on the road, and no one grabs a beer. What the hell kind of tour was this going to be? First things first, Greg, the drummer, is known by another name…Chef Boy RV. He immediately is reorganizing cabinets and planning the week’s meals. Zo, the bass player, is driving. The merch girl is peeling stickers from old promo hand outs and putting new ones on. Chris and Desiree are checking on promoters, booking, and most of all doing last minute promotions. It turns out that using social networking sites like MySpace is how this band makes it work. This will take a little explaining.

BAMN is unsigned. They don’t use the term Indie in the stylistic sense. They have pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps utilizing the tools found on the internet to create their own network. Most bands get started using financing from an indie label. BAMN is self financed. No corporation owns their music. BAMN pays for their RV, finances tour after tour, and records at venues like the Legendary Sunset Sound where the likes of Metallica and Prince record. They pay for this with cd’s, t-shirts, ringtones, and six bucks you paid at the door.

BAMN did it all themselves. They have over forty thousand MySpace fans. To give you an idea of what that equates to in terms of popularity you need to understand that My Morning Jacket and The Bravery have seventy five thousand fans. Me First and The Gimme Gimmes have sixty thousand.

So you see a lot of things on the road, and my job is to pick what would interest you most. So did I witness a remorseful drunk girl who hopped on the bus in one city get off it in another city wondering aloud “What am I going to tell my mother?” Yes, I did. Did I watch the creative process as they fleshed out songs from little ideas? Yes I did. Did I go to a pool party at a lesbian’s house at two AM where they set up a slip and slide that was wet down with lube instead of water? Yes I did, but by far my favorite story came on the night of Greg’s birthday.Birthdays on the road are funny things. The band gets off stage, and usually beelines for the bar. The first round of shots came from a fan, and it was just Greg and the fan. By the fifth round it’s over ten people. Round seven came in about 10 min, and that’s when the bartender went to slow Greg down. Greg replied. “Are you my mother or my fuckin bartender? Give me the goddamn shot!”

The next hour or two are a little hazy, but I remember we were back on the bus, a quickly receding bottle of Buffalo Trace in hand, when someone decided we needed to go swimming. How we ended up at the elementary school pool I think I’ll never know. There was a ten foot high fence with spikes bent outward to keep you from climbing over, that I’m sure was responsible for half of the unidentified drunken injuries the next day, but not the worst one. Greg climbed the life guard tower to make his own high jump. Here I need to tell you that it was not set in cement, but rather a free standing structure.

Greg claims the third rung broke when the tower went over. Everyone else thinks the only thing that broke was his head on the cement. I think it was Zo who first noticed the bloody trail in the water. Chris anointed himself drunken doctor, and assessed the situation as minor. The next day the vomit and the blood soaked pillow told the story Greg couldn’t remember, but we had a show to get to so it was another day before Greg got his head properly treated.

The road is a party, but it’s a lot smellier and a lot more work than I thought. Those nights of partying are well earned. It takes a lot to make it doing it on your own, and that is precisely what By All Means Necessary is doing. Now I know what you’re thinking…what the hell was with those cucumber melon baby wipes?

Remember that shower that was converted into storage? It turns out that the biggest challenge on the road is finding a place to shower. So a four day stretch without a shower is common. The baby wipes are your shower, and the bus bathroom is far from the ideal locale. Your perfect choice is a local corporate chain coffee shop. You can lock the door, and they usually have a hook to hang your clothes. So one day I’m in Salt Lake City, and I am ripe. I need a real shower, but there is no time. I check the venue, but it reminds me of a scene out of “Trainspotting.” I quickly assess the situation, and the only public restroom I can find is in a Sears dept store- not at all ideal.

I enter the restroom disappointed to find no locks and no hot water. By this time my shame was a thing of the past. So I’m working through my clean routine standing at the bank of sinks, and at this point am naked except for a pair of flip flops and a smile when in walks a Mormon Nordic Cowboy. He takes one look at me and heads for a stall. As you can imagine he left quite quickly, and without washing his hands. I’m quite sure the cowboy went to the bar that night to tell his friends of the bizarre acts of gay perversion he witnessed at the Sears that day.

Being on the road was a lot of fun but the best part was going out every night and seeing some incredible music. BAMN’s sound is current and relevant today. They are a breath of fresh air. In a music scene cannibalizing itself for safe investment, they dare to be unique and it pays off in spades. Go see By All Means Necessary and support real indie music, and if you like it…please let them shower at your house. ..They smell bad.

There are rumors that rapper Lupe Fiasco will retire from hip-hop after he releases his third album “LupEND”.

Atlantic Records will not comment on the rumors, but some are citing a comment made by Lupe last December when he was asked about his future plans. “LupEND’ — that’s going to be my last album’s title. When you play a videogame, you can only put in three letters for your name and when the game’s over, those three letters and ‘END’ pop up. My next record might be my last one.”

Lupe told fans at a Halloween Chicago show that the “END” stands for “Everywhere, Nowhere & Down Here”.

No release date has been set for the album.

Early Release Dates For Ludacris, Kanye and The Killers

To capitalize on the Thanksgiving shopping weekend, Island Def Jam is moving up the album release dates for Ludacris, Kanye and The Killers.

Ludacris’ “Theater Of The Mind”, Kanye’s “808s & Heartbreak” and The Killers’ “Day & Age” will now be released on Monday, November 24th. All the albums will be available in physical and digital formats.

Kanye Arrested In The UK

Kanye West was arrested in London, England after hitting a paparazzo who was trying to get his picture coming out of a club. Kanye was leaving the Tup Tup club with 4 girls when a paparazzo started taking pictures. The paparazzo said that Kanye shoved him and tried to take the camera. The paparazzo was left a cut above his nose.Fourth Anniversary Of Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Death

On the fourth anniversary of Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s death, his mother wrote a letter criticizing those who have wrongly profited off and spoke ill of the rapper. In the letter, the rapper’s mother accused Ol’ Dirty’s widow of taking loans and denying the rapper’s children the funds.

The mother also said that the widow is blocking the release of the Ol’ Dirty’s final album. Ol’ Dirty’s mother also said that she is angry about an unauthorized bio written by the rapper’s one time lawyer Robert Shapiro. She said the book is full of lies and that she will spend the rest of her life making sure that the public image of her son is upheld in a positive light.